A Night To Remember
by elven-princess88
Summary: S5, Post Checkpoint. Sparring? Shrek? Scrabble? Cookie Dough? Dawn playing matchmaker? Sounds like a night to remember!


Disclaimer: Not mine. It all belongs to the God Almighty, Joss Whedon.  
  
A/N: Just a bit of pointless fun to keep me happy while I'm planning my next story after Surfing With Spike. Totally fluffy, based on a challenge which I'll post at the end, hope you like it!  
  
*********  
  
8:00pm  
  
"You will be careful, won't you?"  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at her mother, exasperated by her never ending concern. "For the last time, yes! Me and Dawn will be perfectly safe spending the night in the house alone while you go to LA to get the new stuff for the gallery. It is not to worry."  
  
"I'm just not sure I want you two alone in the house with a boy around."  
  
Buffy had to laugh at that. "Mom, Spike's not a boy! He's a vampire!"  
  
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"  
  
"He's just coming over to spar with me. That's all."  
  
"I know, but sometimes, I just. . . there's nothing going on between you two, is there?"  
  
Buffy fought desperately to keep a straight face as she shook her head. "God, no! I don't even like the guy! And he'd kill me given half the chance. Now stop worrying and go. You're going to be late."  
  
Joyce couldn't believe how far in denial her daughter was. It was obvious to anyone that Spike adored her, and Buffy. . . well, lets just say Buffy had stronger feelings for the vampire than she'd ever admit. They were like little kids in the playground, being mean because they secretly liked one another and didn't want to admit it. Then she had a horrible thought. Want if they gave into their feelings while she was away? What is they abandoned Dawn while they went for a secret rendez-vous in his crypt, and she got kidnapped? What if Spike turned Buffy into a vampire? Oh, God.  
  
"Buffy, maybe this isn't such a good idea."  
  
But Buffy wasn't having it. She shoved her mother's bag into her hands. "Go!"  
  
Joyce nodded. "Right, the gallery." She turned and opened the door.  
  
"Love you, Mom," Buffy said, kissing her on the cheek as she passed through the doorway. "Bye!"  
  
She watched as her mother got into the car and started to drive away, then breathed a sigh of relief. She was finally gone. Since when did she care so much about Spike being here? She'd never minded when he was evil, so why now? She shut the door with a bang, and then leant her back against it.  
  
There was a thundering on the stairs, and she looked up to see Dawn flying down them, wearing flared black trousers, a tight blue top with long flowing sleeves, and cute black kitten heels. Her hair was swept into a complicated bun, a few strands strategically left hanging loose, and she was putting a pair of large silver hoops into her ears as she ran.  
  
"Is Spike here yet?"  
  
"Not yet," Buffy said, thanking the Powers for that small favour. If Spike had arrived before her Mom had gone, she would have had second thoughts about leaving, *again*.  
  
She looked Dawn up and down, taking in her outfit. "Since when do we dress up like that on a Friday night in?"  
  
Dawn avoided her eyes, blushing. "Well, I thought since Spike was coming over we could go to the cinema or something."  
  
"Dawn. . ." Buffy said warningly.  
  
"Oh, don't worry!" She said brightly. "You can come along too if you want."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. Had she been this obvious when she was Dawn's age? She really, really hoped not. Then again, she had been the biggest slut in Junior High. At least Dawn's attentions were only on one guy. *Vampire,* Buffy corrected quickly. *Not guy. Vampire.*  
  
"I don't think so, sweetie," Buffy said in the kindest voice she could without sounding fake. "He's just coming over to spar."  
  
"Yeah, but that's not going to take more than an hour, is it? We could go after. I thought we could make a night of it. You know, come back and play Monopoly and drink hot chocolate and tell ghost stories. Spike knows the best ghost stories."  
  
Buffy was about to tell her there was no way she was spending the night hanging with Spike, but then she saw how Dawn's eyes were shining with enthusiasm. She really wanted this.  
  
"Well. . ." Buffy said, trying to think of a viable excuse. "I don't want you staying up late. And I don't think Mom's all that comfortable about you hanging with Spike if she's not here."  
  
"It's a Friday night, Buffy. And Mom's out of town. She doesn't have to know. Please?" She looked down at her sister, eyes wide and begging. "Please, please, please, please!"  
  
Buffy finally gave in. "Alright. But only if Spike wants to. He probably has better things to do than hang out with a bunch of girls."  
  
Dawn grinned. "Great!" She turned and started up the stairs, then stopped and looked back. "How are you going to fight Spike anyway? I thought the chip meant he couldn't hurt you." She looked at Buffy accusingly. "And if he's not coming here to fight you, what is he coming here for?"  
  
"To fight," Buffy said firmly. "His chip doesn't fire if he doesn't intend to hurt me. You know that. As long as he doesn't get too enthusiastic, we can spar."  
  
"But why are you sparring with him now? And here? You never invite Spike over."  
  
Buffy groaned inwardly. She was starting to feel this was a bad idea. Giles had asked her to spar with Spike as part of her new training regime. They were to fight, then Spike was to tell her and Giles any weaknesses she had. His incentive? Pretty pieces of paper. *Strange, though,* Buffy thought. *I'm sure he agreed to do it before I mentioned the money. Must just really want a chance to fight me.*  
  
They were going to do it at the Magic Box with Giles present, but it was closed for building work, and as Buffy's mom was out of town, she had said they could do it in her back yard instead. Of course, she had forgotten about her kid sister with massive crush on him. She would bet anything they didn't get a moment's peace to spar tonight, what with Dawn constantly trailing after them.  
  
Realising Dawn was waiting for an answer, she said, "I've been through all of this already, Dawn. Now if you wanna go to the cinema, you'd go better find out what's on. And make it good. I'm not sitting through Pokemon 2 with you again." Dawn grinned and dashed off to the living room to get the paper.  
  
*This is great,* she thought as she ruffled through the pages. *If it all goes to plan, this is gonna be a night to remember.*  
  
**********  
  
8:30pm  
  
Dawn sighed, her chin in her hands as stared at the two of them through the window. The minute Spike had arrived Buffy had dragged him out into the yard so they could spar. She hadn't even been given the chance to say hi to him, and she had a strange feeling Buffy had planned it that way. She had begged to be allowed to watch them, but Buffy had firmly refused, so she'd done what any self-respecting teenager would do. She'd snuck upstairs to spy on them through her bedroom window.  
  
She wished she hadn't though. Just watching those two made her feel like she didn't stand a chance in hell of getting together with Spike. She didn't know what Buffy was talking about. The girl obviously felt more than hatred for him. The way they fought was almost sensuous, each movement perfectly in tune with the next one. It wasn't like they were fighting, it was almost like they were dancing. Every now and then Spike would take the lead, and a while later Buffy would win it back, but they never stopped.  
  
She squinted down at the pair, and noticed Buffy was saying something to him. Desperately curious to hear what was being said, Dawn took a huge risk. She silently leant forward and opened her window wide, allowing the sound to come through.  
  
"Come on, Slayer. I thought you were going to kick my ass?"  
  
"Oh, believe me, I will."  
  
Somehow, Dawn doubted that very much. Buffy was grinning, and although she couldn't see too clearly, she'd bet her eyes were gleaming with excitement. Spike seemed just as excited, chuckling as he ducked under one of her kicks, grabbing her leg and spinning it the other way.  
  
"But I don't believe you. Look at you, luv. You're knackered. You've never had such a good fight, and I can't even hit you properly."  
  
"I'm not tired. I've barely even started. And this is so not the best fight I've ever had."  
  
"If you're not tired, then why are you sweating so much? And if this isn't the best fight in your whole existence, then why are your eyes gleaming like that?"  
  
*I knew it!* Dawn thought excitedly. *She is so into this!*  
  
Suddenly, Spike caught Buffy round the ankles, sending her down onto the floor, and before she could get up, he was straddling her, keeping her locked in place.  
  
"Or maybe," he said cockily, holding her struggling arms still, "it's not the fight that's got you so excited."  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, maybe it's not so much the fight as who you're fighting."  
  
"If you're suggesting what I'll have to stake you for suggesting. . ."  
  
He lent over her now, concealing her face from Dawn's view.  
  
"Not suggesting, luv. Just saying."  
  
Buffy's voice came out in a low, dangerous hiss then. "Let me up."  
  
"You're the Slayer. Make me."  
  
In one quick movement, Buffy flipped Spike off her and over her head. The minute he landed she straddled in a similar position to what they'd been in before.  
  
"That do you, Spike?"  
  
"Yeah. Always knew you'd like being on top."  
  
The innuendo was lost on Dawn, but Buffy jumped from her position as if she'd been shoved by a red hot poker. She shot Spike a dirty look, then headed off towards the house, leaving him lying there, looking more exasperated than Dawn had even seen him.  
  
*I have to do something about this,* Dawn thought decidedly, quietly closing her window. *Those two so need to get it together. They just need my help getting started. Looks like I've got a mission for the night.* She thought for a moment about how if they got together, her chance with Spike was lost, but quickly shoved it aside. *No way would Spike ever fall for me with Buffy around anyway,* she reasoned. *Besides, that boy that sits beside me in Bio *is* pretty cute. . .*  
  
**********  
  
8:45pm  
  
Spike groaned and got to his feet, exasperated. He'd had to say that little innuendo, didn't he? He could've just let that one slip, but no. He had to ruin the moment. There was no doubt Buffy had been having fun, though. Her heart had been racing when they fought, but it was nothing compared to how fast it had been going when he had pinned her down. He knew that she could have flipped him off the minute he'd held her down, but she had decided not to. Why? He thought he knew the answer, but he didn't want to believe it. There was no way Buffy could possibly like him.  
  
He walked gingerly in through the back door, wondering whether he could come in, or whether he was expected to just leave. He saw the Slayer talking with her sister on the stairs though, so he headed towards them.  
  
"That was some fight, Slayer," he said, trying to smooth things over between them. "We'll have to do it again some time."  
  
"Yeah." Buffy stared him down, as if daring him to say something else suggestive in front of Dawn.  
  
"Great, so you're all done?" Dawn said hopefully.  
  
"Looks like, Lil'Bit."  
  
She grinned widely. "So can we go now?"  
  
"Go where?"  
  
Buffy glared at her sister. "Dawn had this crazy idea that we should all go to the movies, but I told her you were too busy," she said pointedly.  
  
Spike frowned. An evening with the Slayer and the kid? Could be fun. Plus he could always 'accidentally' brush knees with the Slayer in the dark cinema, and if it was a scary film she might even cower in his arms in fright. Definitely had potential.  
  
"Okay, I'm in."  
  
"See, Dawn, I told you he. . . what?"  
  
"I said, I'm in. Sounds like fun. What do you wanna see?"  
  
"Shrek!" she said, grinning.  
  
"Dawn! I said no stupid movies! Spike doesn't want to see that!"  
  
"Hey, Shrek is not a stupid movie!" Spike said indignantly. "I've seen it loads of times. Lord Faarquad is the best."  
  
Buffy giggled then. "Yeah, I guess you can relate, being so short an' all."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Buffy ignored him. "Okay, so, let's go then."  
  
"Wadda'ya mean, let's go?" Dawn asked, incredulously. "You're not ready."  
  
"It's just the cinema, Dawn. I don't need to get dressed up."  
  
Dawn put on her best pout. "Come on. It'll be fun! Besides, you need to take a shower anyway. You're sweating like a pig."  
  
Buffy blushed. "Oh, right. I'd better go change then. Back soon."  
  
She scurried off up the stairs, and Dawn turned to Spike. "That means she'll be at least an hour," she confided. "She always takes forever getting changed, and if you add a shower into the mix. . ."  
  
**********  
  
9:15pm  
  
Buffy stepped out of the shower, more relaxed than she'd felt for a while. That had been some fight, but she'd been glad when Spike had given her an excuse to stop. It was not good to get that excited when you're with Spike, even if you're fighting. She frowned as she rubbed her hair down, thinking about how she had felt when he had pinned her down. Why hadn't she just thrown him straight off? And why had she felt so short of breath when he had leant over her? *It's just 'cause he's so good looking,* she reasoned. *Anyone would get excited if someone *that* gorgeous climbed on top of you. It's not him, just his appearance.*  
  
Happy with her excuse, Buffy blow dried her hair, then opened her closet doors. She was immediately met with another problem. What the hell was she going to wear? She wanted to look nice, maybe a little sexy, but not anything that looked like she'd made an effort.  
  
Tossing the towel she had wrapped around her to the floor, she pulled on her underwear, and then stood and considered. She pulled out item after item, studying it, discounting it, then tossing it onto her bed.  
  
Black dress? Too smart. Jeans? Too casual. Black boob tube? Too slutty. Blue peasant top? Too blood stained.  
  
She was just digging around in the darker corners of her closet when the door creaked open. Assuming it was Dawn, she turned.  
  
"What do you think, Dawn? Which pants should I. . ." She looked at the person who had just come in the door. It was Spike. Spike, looking her up and down appreciatively, licking his lips. Spike, looking her up and down, *while she was in her underwear*.  
  
Buffy squealed, and grabbed the towel off the floor to cover herself. "What are you doing in here, you perv? Haven't you heard of knocking?"  
  
Ignoring her question, he said, "I was just wondering if you were planning on coming? You've been up here ages."  
  
"Yes, I'm coming!" She snapped. "I'm just picking something to wear. Now get out!"  
  
He grinned. "Why don't you just go as you are, luv? I'd certainly appreciate it."  
  
"GET OUT!" Buffy yelled, throwing one of her teddies at him as he retreated.  
  
"Fine, fine," he said, backing towards the door with his hands raised in acceptance. "Just don't know why you're so fussed. Believe me," he said, looking her up and down, "you have *nothing* to be embarrassed about."  
  
At that, she grabbed her stake off her dresser, and started towards him. Smirking, he turned and left.  
  
Growling, Buffy stormed back over to her bed and started looking through the stuff she'd already discounted, trying to pick something suitable for her new aim. If Spike was gonna look at her like that, she'd make him drool. She'd wear the most slutty, revealing thing she owned, and really let him know what he would never had.  
  
**********  
  
9:40pm  
  
Buffy ran down the stairs, tossing the hair out of her eyes as she went. Realising Spike and Dawn weren't there, she went into the living room to find them sat on the sofa together, watching cartoons.  
  
"I thought we were going to the cinema?"  
  
"We are," Dawn said, not looking at her. "You were taking so long we decided we'd do something else while we waited." She looked up, and frowned when she saw what her sister was wearing.  
  
"I thought you weren't going to dress up."  
  
"Changed my mind," she said, grinning as she saw Spike glance at her, then stop, mouth hanging open in amazement.  
  
She was wearing a tight deep red halter top, which looked more like it was painted on than made of cloth. The neck line hung low, showing off all the cleavage Buffy could muster, and the back was simply two very thin pieces of material tied together at the bottom to hold it in place. Her skirt was black, and barely came down to the middle of her thigh, and her hair was curled carefully around her face.  
  
Pretending to be concerned by Spike's attention, she said, "What's the matter, Spike? Is there something on my outfit?" She the proceeded to very slowly turn around, looking all over for the imaginary stain, giving Spike plenty of time to notice that she wasn't wearing a bra.  
  
He shook his head, so she said, "Okay. Shall we go then?"  
  
They both nodded, so she walked past Spike to get her bag. She purposefully leaned forward to pick it up, giving Spike a good view of her ass in the process, and was satisfied to hear a little gurgle come from his throat. *Mission accomplished,* she thought.  
  
**********  
  
10:00pm  
  
Spike sat in the darkness of the cinema, trying to focus on the film instead of the girl beside him. It had been a weird evening so far, and he thought it would probably get weirder before the night was out. First, Buffy had got so excited when she was fighting him, and when he had held her down he was certain she'd been at least a little turned on. Then he had come into her room to find her in her underwear, an image he would keep burned on his retina forever, as he was almost certain he would never see it again. After that, Buffy had dressed in the sexiest outfit he had ever seen, and then proceeded to give him a good show of her chest and ass, although whether accidental or on purpose he wasn't sure.  
  
The strangest thing though had been when they had arrived at the cinema. The place was packed and there were no sets of three seats left, and Dawn had sat on her own so the two of them could sit together. That shocked him the most. It was clear to everyone that the Bit had a crush on him, so why would she freely sit at the other side of the room so that he could sit next to her sister?  
  
Frowning, he reached into the bag of popcorn he and Buffy were sharing, and, grabbing for a handful of it, he accidentally grabbed a hand instead. He jumped, and pulled his hand out still holding the other, now struggling, hand.  
  
Not thinking what he was doing, he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb over the back of the hand, tracing invisible patterns as he continued to watch the film. He sensed that shivers were running up and down the other person's spine, and started to trace patterns on the palm with his other fingers as well.  
  
"Spike. . ." the other person's voice moaned distractedly. Pleased that his attack on the hand was having such an effect, he carried on.  
  
"Spike, you're making. . . making me spill. . . my popcorn."  
  
Spike jumped as if he was suddenly realising what he was doing, and turned to see Buffy sitting beside him, her eyes half closed, a small smile playing on her lips, as she shook her head.  
  
He dropped the hand, amazed that he hadn't been staked the instant he had started, and continued to watch the film.  
  
**********  
  
10:30pm  
  
Buffy's hand was tingling as she tried to concentrate on the action on the screen. Why had Spike done that to her? Why had she *let* Spike do that to her? And, most importantly, why had he stopped?  
  
She shoved her hand back in the bag of popcorn, hoping to entangle her fingers in his again, but his hand wasn't there. Sighing, she munched on the popcorn she had just grabbed, trying to finish it as quickly as possible so she could have another try. *Wait a minute,* she thought suddenly. *Why am I so into holding Spike's hand all of a sudden? That's it, no more cola for me. It always makes me loopy.*  
  
Satisfied that it was just the cola making her feel that way, she turned her attention back to the film. She squealed as she saw a dragon suddenly rear forward, shooting fire straight at her, and dove straight into the protection of Spike's arms.  
  
"Lemme get this straight," Spike whispered huskily in her ear. "The Slayer is scared of cartoon dragons."  
  
Buffy shook her head. "Nope. Just made me jump is all." She snuggled further against Spike's chest, and felt his arm come protectively around her. *This is more like it,* she thought, grinning.  
**********  
  
11:00pm  
  
*Oh my God, I was so right about them!* Dawn thought excitedly as she watched her sister and Spike from her vantage point a few rows behind. She was pleased with her scheme to sit them together with nobody else they knew in sight, but she hadn't thought it would work quite so well. Only after a few minutes their hands had collided in the popcorn bag, and it had been ages before they had let go again. And then, later on, Buffy had jumped and ended up snuggled up in Spike's arms. That had been half an hour before, and they were still sat like that, with Spike absentmindedly twirling a few strands of Buffy's hair. To get from supposed seething hatred to that in the space of about 3 hours? That's what Dawn called success!  
  
She yawned, and fidgeted in her seat. She wanted the film to be over, but there was still half an hour left. This film had been great the first hundred times she'd seen it, but now it was starting to bore her. Instead of watching it, she had been making more plans to get the two of them together. She now had the entire night planned out for them.  
  
*I am such a Good Samaritan,* she thought proudly. *I gave my sister the chance to be with my one true love for her own good. How generous is that of me? And not only that, but I let her sit with the only one out of the three of us who could afford to but popcorn. Does she even know how hard it is to sit through a film without something to munch on?*  
**********  
  
11:45pm  
  
Buffy hugged her arms as they walked along the sidewalk towards her house. The night had turned very chilly all of a sudden, and she couldn't wait to be inside the warmth of the house.  
  
"Can you guys hurry up a bit," she said irritably. "I'm freezing my ass off here."  
  
"I'd like to see that," Spike said with a smirk, earning him a hard elbow in the ribs from Buffy.  
  
Dawn grinned, all the maturity she'd tried to gain with her makeup vanishing as she yelled, "Last on back to the house is a rotten egg!" With that, she set off at a run towards the house.  
  
Buffy set off after her, then realised Spike wasn't coming.  
  
"Come on, Spike!" she yelled back at him.  
  
He gave her a disgusted look. "I'm not racing you, Slayer."  
  
"What?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye. "Scared I'll beat you?"  
  
That was the only encouragement Spike needed. He barrelled after her, and she turned and ran as fast as she could. She tried desperately to stay in front of him, but her high heels burdened her, and soon he was ahead of her.  
  
Using all of her Slayer powers, she forced herself to keep running as she tore the shoes from her feet. The minute they were off, she set off after him like a rocket, flying past Dawn moments later. He was miles ahead, he was going to win, but there was no way Buffy was going to let that happen. Forcing herself to run faster, she managed to get in front of him just outside the gate, and she laughed as she raced up the path. She reached for the doorknob. . . and a pair of strong hands wrapped themselves around her waist holding her back.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Spike swung her round, tossing her behind him as he stepped forward, and then fell flat on his face when Buffy pulled on his ankles.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"Serves you right," Buffy said, scrambling up from the place he had thrown her, then making a beeline for the door. Of course, her Slayer skills didn't make her any less clumsy, and she tripped over his outstretched leg as she passed.  
  
"Oh, you are so for it!" she yelled as she dived at him. Bracing himself for a punch in the nose, he was unbelievably surprised when she started. . . tickling him?  
  
Trying desperately not to laugh, as everyone knows that Big Bads aren't ticklish, he flipped her over onto her back, so that he was on top.  
  
"I think turnabout's fair play, don't you think, luv?" he said as he started to tickle her mercilessly.  
  
"No! Spike, stop it!" she yelled between giggles, desperately trying to swat him away but failing miserably.  
  
"What, so it's alright for you to do it to me but I can't do it to you?" Spike asked, pulling the bottom of her top up so he could work on her stomach.  
  
"Yes!" Buffy said.  
  
"What's that, Slayer?"  
  
But Buffy just shook her head, unable to speak through the giggles.  
  
"I win!"  
  
They both looked up to see Dawn standing in the hallway, grinning triumphantly. "That means that I get to pick what we do next!"  
  
"Do next?" Spike asked, confused as he let Buffy up off the ground.  
  
"Yeah," Dawn said, grinning. "I wanna bake some cookies!"  
  
Spike looked at Buffy, who just shrugged. "I guess, if you don't mind staying."  
  
He grinned and nodded. "Fine," he said. "Cookies it is."  
  
As they wandered inside, Buffy looked back at the flowerbed they'd been lying in. She cringed as she saw the state of the flowers. Her Mom was gonna kill her when she saw them. *Better start working on my alibi then,* she thought decidedly. *How about 'I was responsibly walking back from patrol when this demon jumped out at me. . .'*  
  
**********  
  
12:30am  
  
At that moment, Spike was glad he didn't have a reflection. He was also glad he didn't have any friends, because if he had some and they found out about this. . .  
  
He still couldn't believe he was doing this. He was standing in the Slayer's kitchen, baking biscuits, while wearing a large apron that said 'I kiss better than I cook' on the front, and he was pretty sure he had flour in his hair.  
  
Not that he was the only one who looked stupid. Dawn had butter on her nose, and the Slayer had flour all over her face, but he was the only one with a reputation to keep up. Not that it wasn't already shot to pieces, but still.  
  
"Okay, so what do we do now?" Dawn asked.  
  
Buffy leaned over the cookery book, giving Spike a good view of her cleavage as she read the next step. "Put small amounts of the mixture on the baking tray and cooked at Gas Mark 5 for 20 minutes."  
  
"Right," Dawn said, and started putting splodges of the mixture on the tray. Buffy helped, and a few minutes later all the cookies were in the oven.  
  
Spike frowned, and looked over at the bowl in Buffy's arms. "Hey, there's still mixture in there. What're you gonna do with that?"  
  
"Eat it, stupid!" she said, as she dipped her finger in and then proceeded to lick it clean. Spike would've given anything to have been that finger at that moment. "Here, try some," she said smiling as she walked towards him, holding out the bowl.  
  
He didn't know what made him do it. One second he was reaching towards the bowl, and the next he had grabbed her finger and shoved it into his mouth. Her eyes went wide as he licked all around her finger, then she moaned softly, her eyes flickering shut.  
  
"Oh, get a room, you two!" Dawn said indignantly, effectively bringing Buffy back to her senses and causing her to quickly pull her finger out of his mouth.  
  
"What the hell was that?" she said in her most pissed off voice, trying to cover up for her squirming insides, then she grinned. "If you want some of it, here!" She grabbed some from the bowl, and flicked it at his face. It landed in a blob directly between his eyes, making him look so silly she couldn't help but burst out laughing.  
  
"Oh, you're asking for it, luv," Spike said dangerously as he reached for the wooden spoon off the sideboard. Before Buffy knew what was happening, he swirling it about in her hair, effectively sticking her perfect curls with the beige goo.  
  
Really pissed off now, she stuck her hands in the bowl, then pressed them against Spike's cheeks, leaving two hand marks stuck there. He growled, then used his spoon as a catapult to throw mixture at her. It landed square on her nose, and she giggled in spite of herself.  
  
She stopped giggling a second later when Spike leaned forward and licked the mixture straight off again, leaving her breathless. Seeing the look on her face, he tweaked her nose and pulled her in close.  
  
"Looks like I win, pet," he said huskily as he leaned in to kiss her.  
  
"Are you guys done yet?" Dawn asked, incredibly bored.  
  
They jumped 5 feet apart. They had both forgotten that Dawn was there. But there she was, rolling her eyes as she saw the state the two of them were in.  
  
"You know Mom'll kill you if she finds out you had a food fight."  
  
Buffy nodded. "I guess I'd better go take a shower then."  
  
"Uh uh. No way."  
  
"What? What about my hair?" Buffy turned on her sister, wondering what the hell she was playing at.  
  
"Wash it in the sink. You are not leaving me here to clean up your mess."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at her sister, but then set off towards the sink. Her sister was so much like their Mom sometimes it was unbelievable. She reached to turn the tap on, but was shoved out of the way by Spike.  
  
"I'm going first, Slayer, since you're the one who started it."  
  
Buffy groaned, but couldn't find the energy to argue, so she went and sat sulkily down instead.  
  
**********  
  
1:15am  
  
Buffy, Dawn and Spike sat curled up in the living room, playing scrabble. Dawn was sitting in a bean bag chair she'd dragged downstairs, and Buffy and Spike were curled up together on the couch. They'd been playing for the last half an hour, after deciding to leave cleaning up the mess in the kitchen until later.  
  
Buffy had assumed that because Spike was a vampire he wouldn't know how to play, and was looking forward to an easy victory. She wasn't counting, however, on Spike's massive knowledge of words that he'd gained from an education at Oxford University.  
  
"'Effulgent' and 'in'," Spike said triumphantly as he put all his letters down on the boards. "So that's 17 for effulgent, tripled 'cause it's on the triple word score, and 2 for in. Add fifty 'cause I've used all my letters. . . 103 points for me."  
  
"That's impossible," Buffy scoffed. She glared down at the board, then said, "Cheat! You can't put two words!"  
  
"You can, luv," Spike said, grinning and holding out the rulebook to her. "If you put a letter next to another letter already on the board that make a word together, you can build a word off that letter and score for both."  
  
"Well. . ." Buffy said, "effulgent's not even a word!"  
  
"Of course it is, Slayer! Don't they teach you anything in the uni of yours?"  
  
"What's a uni?" Buffy asked, confused.  
  
But Spike just rolled his eyes and wrote his score down before she could argue again. If he'd known the Slayer was this dumb when he'd been trying to kill her, it would've made things a whole lot easier.  
**********  
  
1:30am  
  
"Okay," Dawn said grandly. "So the final scores are. . . me in last place with 178, Buffy in second place with 245 and Spike in first place with 432."  
  
"Looks like I won, luv," Spike drawled.  
  
"Looks like you did, *luv*," Buffy said resentfully, pushing him away from her.  
  
"Oh, don't tell me the Slayer's a sore loser?" Spike said, laughing. "Oh, this is too good!"  
  
"I'm not a sore loser! I just always win at Scrabble. And you've beaten me hands down."  
  
"Well, lets just call it payback for all the times you've trounced me in a fight."  
  
Buffy grinned. "Yeah. That is true."  
  
Spike was about to say something else, when Dawn jumped to her feet.  
  
"What's that smell?" she asked tentatively. Buffy and Spike looked around and sniffed, and a moment later it clicked.  
  
"The cookies!" Buffy yelled, running towards the kitchen.  
  
She swung the kitchen door open and smoke billowed into the room.  
  
"Spike!" she yelled. "Go turn the oven off."  
  
He did as she asked, and dove into the room, turning off the oven and opening the window to try and let the smoke out. A few minutes later, after the smoke had cleared, Buffy and Dawn stepped carefully into the room and opened the oven door. Where there should have been warm, delicious cookies there now sat what appeared to be small, black pieces of charred rocks.  
  
"Oh, shit."  
  
**********  
  
2:00am  
  
Buffy, Dawn and Spike sat in the living room, sipping hot chocolate. They had decided there was no way of salvaging the cookies after they had force fed Spike one. He had claimed that even though he had no taste buds, it was like trying to eat a brick that had been rescued from the wreckage of a house fire, so they had chucked them all in the bin and decided to make hot chocolate instead. Or, rather, they had decided to force Spike to make them hot chocolate instead.  
  
Now they were curled up, contemplating the fact that they should probably clean up the mess in the kitchen, or at least bother to put the scrabble board away. Eventually, Buffy got to her feet.  
  
"Well, I guess we'd better go sort out that mess."  
  
Dawn let out a huge yawn. "You know, Buff, I'm actually really tired. I think I'd better go to bed."  
  
"No way, missy!" Buffy said, annoyed. "You're not leaving us to tidy it by ourselves."  
  
"But I'm tired," Dawn insisted. "You know Mom'll kill you if she finds out that you wouldn't let me go to bed at 2 in the morning. I have to be in bed by 11 normally. You know that."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed, a movement Dawn took as her signal to go.  
  
"Night Buffy!" She yelled as she ran up the stairs. She was so proud of the progress Buffy and Spike had made under her careful guidance. *There was no way they would've thought to get together without my help,* she thought happily. *I should be getting my karmic reward any day now.*  
  
Buffy sighed at she watched her sister vanish up the stairs, and then was surprised to see Spike pulling on his coat also.  
  
"I'd better get going, luv," he said, as he hurriedly made for the door. "You don't want me under your feet any longer. I'll let myself out."  
  
"Oh no you don't!" She said, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "You're staying to help me tidy up."  
  
He groaned as she pulled his duster off him and dumped it on the floor, then dragged him towards the kitchen door. "Why do I have to help?"  
  
"You helped make the mess," Buffy said, shoving a cloth into his hands, "you help clean it up."  
  
Muttering under his breath, he started to wipe down the flour covered surfaces as Buffy started to run the washing up water. She squirted the washing up liquid in, then went to gather together the things that were dirty. She turned back two seconds later to see a mountain of bubbles forming in the sink.  
  
"Shit!"  
  
Spike turned to look, and burst out laughing when he saw what she'd done. "How much stuff did you put in, luv?"  
  
"Not too much."  
  
"Not too much? You sure? 'Cause from that amount of bubbles I'd say you put a lot too much in."  
  
Buffy swore again, under her breath this time, and ran to turn the tap off. Unfortunately, Spike did exactly the same thing, and crashed into Buffy from behind, sending her flying headfirst into the mountain of bubbles. Her head emerged two seconds later covered in soap bubbles, which barely disguised the fury on her face.  
  
"Spike! What the hell did you do that for?"  
  
"I dunno, luv," he said, smirking as he poked her on the nose, popping some of the bubbles that rested there.  
  
"Stop it! It's not funny."  
  
"It's very funny," he said grinning as he softly ran his fingers all around her face, brushing away anything in their path.  
  
"I mean it, Spike," Buffy said, her voice losing the edge it had as she leaned gently into his touch.  
  
"So do I," he said, his eyes fluttering between the pools of her eyes and the sulky pout of her lip as he leaned in towards her.  
  
She gasped as she felt the coolness of his lips, shocked by his daring as he put his arms around her waist pulling her closer. *This is Spike,* she reminded herself, but her body seemed to have a mind of it's own, her arms automatically coming up around his neck to press his mouth closer to hers. She was the first to sneak her tongue out, begging for entrance, which was granted almost straight away as his tongue came out to meet hers halfway.  
  
She moaned as she felt him press her against the sink, feeling the warm bubbles against her back.  
  
"The tap," she said, not wanting to break contact, praying he'd get her meaning with stopping the kiss.  
  
He pulled back though, and looked at her questioningly. "What's that, luv?"  
  
"The tap. We have to. . . to turn the tap off."  
  
He leaned past her and turned the tap until the running water stopped, then slowly moved back towards her. As he passed over her neck, he leant down and planted a kiss there, making Buffy weak at the knees. He then started kissing her all up her neck, ending at her ear, which he nibbled and licked until Buffy moaned.  
  
"Spike. . ."  
  
Her moan was cut short by him pressing his lips to hers once more. He didn't ask for entrance, he didn't need to, as their tongues danced. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and stepped forward, and they blindly stumbled into the dining room, trying to make for the stairs. They forgot about the table.  
  
They crashed into it, and their combined strength made it topple to the floor, taking the two of them with it.  
  
They landed with Spike on top, pinning Buffy down as she held him round the waist, pulling him further towards her. His hands travelled around her body, softly caressing every bit of skin her could find.  
  
Buffy gasped when she felt his erection digging into her, her skirt riding up as she struggled to get closer to him. She wanted this, but here wasn't the place. What if her Mom came home earlier and saw them?  
  
She gently pushed him away, and was instantly saddened by the loss of touch.  
  
She managed to let out one word. "Upstairs."  
  
He looked down at her. "You sure?"  
  
Buffy frowned. What was he saying that for? Couldn't he see she wanted him? It was obvious he wanted her. She didn't say that, however. She just nodded and hissed, "Want. . . you."  
  
That was all Spike needed. He got to his feet, dragging Buffy with him, and they stumbled up the stairs, him untying the back of her top as they went  
**********  
  
6:00am  
  
Joyce pulled into the driveway just as the sun was starting to peek up on the horizon. She had meant to stay in a hotel in LA, but worry for her two daughters had made her come home early. She stepped out of the car, and was shocked to see her beautiful flowerbed of begonias ruined. They were all squashed down, as if people had been rolling around in them.  
  
*Looks like someone had a fight here,* Joyce thought angrily, as she stormed up towards the door. *Buffy knows better than to fight vampires in my garden! She is in so much trouble when she wakes up!*  
  
She opened the door to a silent house, and tiptoed in. She stopped suddenly when she saw a black leather coat dumped on the floor near the door. She picked it up and hung it on the coat stand, wondering why it was there. *Funny,* she thought. *That looks like Spike's.*  
  
Frowning, she went into the living room to find the scrabble set left out on the table. *But the girls never play Scrabble anymore. . .* She then noticed that there were 3 letter racks laid out, and 3 empty mugs left around it. She picked up the score sheet, and frowned when she saw that it also had Spike's name on it.  
  
That was when she smelled it. The scent leftover when something's been burning, the one that hangs around and won't leave for days. Worried now, she followed the smell into the kitchen.  
  
She gasped when she saw the state it was in. There were dirty dishes piled up in the sink, a mountain of bubbles surrounding them. The surfaces were half wiped, half covered with a beige goo, and there was flour everywhere. As she entered the room properly, she noticed a pile of very burnt cookies unceremoniously dumped in the bin. She wrinkled her nose and continued inside, taking in the full extent of the mess. It wasn't until she was in the centre of the room that she noticed the trail of bubbles, leading from the sink through into the dining room. Deciding she had nothing to lose, she followed. The trail ended in a squished pile of bubbles on the floor, next to the upturned table.  
  
*If Buffy knocked the table over, why didn't she pick it up again.*  
  
Deciding she'd have to have a word with that young lady, she set off up the stairs. She stopped at the top when she noticed Buffy's halter top lying abandoned on the landing. She picked it up, and noticed there were bubbles and cookie dough stains all over it.  
  
*Maybe she was going to put it in the laundry basket,* she thought, *and dropped it on the way.*  
  
Who was she kidding?  
  
She crept towards Buffy's door, and, terrified of what she might see inside, pushed it open a crack.  
  
She squinted through the darkness, and saw Buffy lying in bed, snuggled up next to Spike as she slept. Trying to ignore the fact that they were both obviously naked, she silently closed the door. She had to say she was happy, well, as happy as a mother could be when her daughter had obviously just had sex with a vampire she had claimed to hate just 10 hours before. She was glad her daughter had finally got a boyfriend who wouldn't hurt her. And, in her Mom capacity, she could tease her daughter mercilessly about all the stuff downstairs for weeks to come.  
  
*I should go away more often,* she thought decidedly. *Looks like they all had a night to remember.*  
**********  
  
A/N: Okay, here's the challenge:  
  
A fic set during Season 5. It must include romance, Spike, Dawn, and the entire story must take place on a Friday night between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am. Must be rated AT LEAST PG-13.  
  
Please review! 


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